Summer ends, school begins

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly summer comes to an end, the weather changes, and just like that we are in school running around to games and practices, and trying to keep up!

All of our chrysalises have hatched to date. We are waiting on three more.  Doing better than the wild this year at least!  This is Mrs Beach hanging out at work (I took her with me), drying her wings before she is ready to fly.

Downtown Muskegon has a large 1930's theatre that is used for several things/events. There was a free historical tour so I decided to attend. It wasn't much of a tour. We sat in the seats and the guide read to us from a script, then we had a 30 minute organ concert. I did learn a few things and most of it was quite enjoyable, just not what I expected. We always laugh when people talk about Muskegon. Most sentences begin with, "Well there used to be..."  That was much of the Frauenthal history tour. It is quite a beautiful building and has been restored to its original paint, tapestries, etc.

Maria had a soccer tournament in Portage last weekend.  She is on a different team again this year which means new families and new uniforms. Why do I do this I often ask myself.  It gave Brandon the privilege of driving us there. 1.5 hours closer to the 50 he needs to get his license.

They played a game where you are both blindfolded and try hit each other with a rolled up newspaper. It was quite funny to watch.

Anika has had several volleyball tournaments and games. She doesn't play much but has seem to find a routine and work with it. She often takes stats on the tablet during the games.

The kids started school on August 29. Anika and Brandon had service days - their small groups go into the community and help with a project; Jessica had team building at a high ropes course, and Maria had a half day. Tomorrow, they start off another week back at it!

11th, 9th, 7th, 5th

They had school off Friday, so Brandon went tubing and surfing with some buddies. I don't know all the details, but I guess a friend of a friend was there - a professional surfer - and he taught Brandon a few things.  This is surfing behind a boat. The waves don't get THAT big on Lake Michigan - but we love it when they do!

Saturday we got some things done at home - including partially cleaning the house - and we hauled the kids to the Muskegon Museum of Art. There is an exhibit there of over 200 photos of many of the different tribes of Native Americans from 1910 - 1929. It was interesting for the most part. The kids sat at one table and colored while Matt and I perused. Some of the history is crazy, and sometimes its amazing to see all they could accomplish with so little - and tipis (that's how they spelled it at the musuem?) are HUGE!

Our neighbor is a sales rep for Dip N Dots, owned in West Michigan, by the West Michigan White Caps! So he gave us free tickets to the game and of course we had Dip N Dots! After the game there were fireworks and kids could run the bases. Aunt Kathy joined us for the game. The Whitecaps got beat badly, but we had plenty of fun.

And sometimes its good just to go outside and play with your dog!

Today I tried to finish cleaning the house, but ran out of hours and energy. Almost every blanket in this house has been washed this weekend and hung outside to dry. Every nook and cranny including under the couches and refrigerator has been vacuumed. Shoes have been tried on, stored or bagged up for someone else, and groceries have been gotten. Tuesdays and Thursdays are crazy around here with all four having something! On your marks, get set, go!